# Is "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow Books, 1986) is identified by: First edition published 1986 by Greenwillow Books, New York. US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published 1986 by Greenwillow Books, New York
- First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
- Quarter navy cloth over light blue boards with silver spine lettering; black-and-white illustrations by Peter Sis
- First-state dust jacket without the Newbery seal
- Publisher imprint reads Greenwillow Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sid Fleischman |
| Publisher | Greenwillow Books |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition published 1986 by Greenwillow Books, New York |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition published 1986 by Greenwillow Books, New York. First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). Quarter navy cloth over light blue boards with silver spine lettering; black-and-white illustrations by Peter Sis. First-state dust jacket without the Newbery seal.

## Is this the true first?
US true first. Newbery Medal 1987.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Missing 'First Edition' statement or a number line not ending in 1 indicates a later printing; book-club editions are unpriced.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Whipping Boy* by Sid Fleischman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-whipping-boy
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.